So whats your solution?

 

And that in turn gives our children and family members a better opportunity to improve their lives.

The rich got rich through hard work at some point in their family line... You could get the ball rolling for your family.

 

I don't agree with that. Look at the President, not because of his color but his background. He was born a nobody and a minority at that with no traditional parents. If that is not equal opportunity. I don't know what to tell you. As far as the ghetto, it's about probability not because of opportunity. Someone from the ghetto is less likely to do well in school, which means no college, which means no career, which means poverty. It's a cycle.

 

The rich got rich by lying, cheating, stealing land and forcing the poor to work in horrible conditions for less than poverty wages and then passed down wealth through generations. There are very few 'rich' families around who got there by respectable means. Rich people are some of the most morally corrupt people (some, not all but some) but my thinking is mush more socialist than most people's.

 

We have more opportunities than most people in other countries could ever hope for and yes some people do fail at realizing the American dream.
It's what you do with said opportunity that counts.

Fred

BTW cute avatar JS.

 

First year FO pay is almost the same as a 16 year old flipping burgers. Think about this, if you got a regular job, 40 hours a week, you only need to make $10.31 an hour to match a first year FO pay. Heck, you don't really need anything above a HS diploma (if you even need that)to make $10.31 an hour, but instead you spend $20K to $50K for flight school and more for a college education...and wind up making the same thing.
But hey, you didn't have to accept the low pay. You could have went somewhere else, I suppose. If people stopped taking the job for the low pay, something would have to be done. Then again, the government would probably make Airline Pilot a government position and fire everyone (like ATC in the 80's).

As far as airline ticket prices, you should never be able to fly in a plane cheaper than it is to drive your car! That's that. Raise the prices to where they once were and people will still fly, not as often, but still fly. Business travelers will continue to fly, it's a requirement in the global market. People will take their vacation once a year, after saving for it, instead of showing up in their pajamas and jetting off to grandma's once a month for $100.

NYC to Disney - 1,113 miles
Airline ticket $89.00 ($0.079 per mile), 2.5 hours
Auto - $140.00 gas (at $2.50 average price), 17.5 hours

If your time is worth anything, that needs to be figured in too (let's face it, people fly because it saves time). So, what is your passenger's time worth? Let's just use $10 an hour as an example (Burger flipper heading to Disney).

Savings by flying - 15 hours
Gas - $140.00
Time - $150.00
Total $290.00 (not including regular operating cost such as oil & maintenance. Also, not including food stops along the way.)

So, a ticket from JFK to MCO, one way, should never sell below $290.00

Some peoples time is worth much more than $10 an hour, this was just a simple example.

 

This is likely a rhetorical question. But personally, I resigned from my first regional job for this very reason. I am worth more than this.

Flying is now a hobby again. I am enjoying teaching people and enjoy zooming around at 2,000 feet with no SOP.

But you can kill one ant on the ant hill and it doesn't go away. When hiring comes, there will be plenty of guys willing to take my seat for no pay. The problem will continue ad infinitum. It is the nature of doing a thing that so many love to do for a living.

 

100% agreed.......good post.

 

If they could get 25 cents more per pax, they would... and they would keep it themselves, since it is already a given that if you won't take the job for poverty wages and a non existant quality of life...
the next guy will.

 

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